Google Case Study – MIS 5402
Bryan Kissinger, Christopher Pope, Lesley Brown
Lora Zeanchock, Michael Schroeder, Sayanti Saha
Free Services
What is Google's Product?
On the surface it may seem that Google’s products are what most
of us use everyday: Gmail, Android, Chrome, Docs, Maps, etc.
Under the surface, Google has created a mutually beneficial
ecosystem for both their users and advertisers where the data
collected from free services help make advertising relevant and
more useful to the individual.
User Data
Google’s real product is the data that they
collect about their users and their business is in
selling that information to advertisers in the
form of advertisements.
Google is an advertising company
Advertisements in Free Services and on the Web
The word cloud (at right) is the demographic information that
google has surmised about our group with the larger words being
commonalities among our group members.
The Positive Feedback Loop: The more users they have in their
ecosystem the more data they have on their users. The more data
they have on their users the more individualized the services and
the targeted advertising can be. This keeps users in their
ecosystem and creates even more advertising impressions.
AD
AD
Search Result
(1) Google About Projects. http://www.google.com/about/products/
(2) Google Ads Settings. https://www.google.com/settings/u/0/ads
Google’s Customized Searching
Google’s is constantly expanding data sources to provide users with new and faster ways to fulfill their
query.
● Google Fiber (1)
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Google Translate (2)
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Offers users the ability to search via voice recognition in 50 languages.
Personal Assistant (2)
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Offers fastest routes to searched location.
Voice Search (3)
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Google Translate used for more than one billion translations per day in 80 languages. Allows searching of
websites in other languages.
Google Directions and Traffic (2)
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Google Fiber offers fast internet service (thus improved searching speeds) for a fee or slower internet
service for free. Google Fiber has now been introduced in eight cities.
Searches emails and texts to add commitments to your calendar.
Auto Insurance comparisons (4)
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Google compares up to 14 services auto insurance policies and provides a quick comparison and
expedited search for insurance.
Google tools offer an expedited means of finding a solution.
References
(1)Google Fiber Official Webpage. https://fiber.google.com/cities/kansascity/plans/
(2)CNN Money. August 20, 2014. 10 innovations That Made Google Great. http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/20/technology/innovationnation/google-search/
(3)Forbes. August 22, 2014. Google’s Voice Search for Android Now Recognizes 5 Different Languages At Once http://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2014/08/22/googlesvoice-search-for-android-now-recognizes-5-different-languages-at-once/
(4)CTV News. March 5, 2015. Google’s Latest Venture Auto Insurance Comparisons. http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/google-s-latest-venture-auto-insurance-comparisons-1.2266651
Google’s Search Product Drives Business Model
● Google focuses on free, high-quality products (e.g. search, email) to engage and
retain an active user base.
o $10B in R&D annually (1) leading to 1.2B monthly searchers (2), 500M gmail
users (3)
● Engaged audience provides platform for Google to sell ads. Google’s customers
are the purchasers of the ads.
o $59B in ad revenue in 2014 (4)
● Google can command premium prices for their advertising space because they
have tremendous amount of user data
o Estimate are as high as 15 exabytes, or 15 million terabytes (5)
● Data enables ad buyers can more efficiently target their segment
o Based on present user activity (e.g. ad for Audi if searching for cars)
o Based on history of user activity (e.g. Nest thermostat if high-tech interest)
(1) CNET. October 30, 2013. Apple’s R&D up 32 percent in 2013, still dwarfed by rivals. http://www.cnet.com/news/apples-r-d-up-32-percent-in-2013-still-dwarfed-by-rivals/
(2) Search Engine Land. February 11, 2013. Google still world’s most popular search engine by far, but share of unique users dips slightly. http://searchengineland.com/google-worldsmost-popular-search-engine-148089
(3) CNN Money. April 1, 2014. Gmail at 10: How Google dominated e-mail. http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/01/technology/gmail/
(4) Google Investor Relations. https://investor.google.com/financial/tables.html
(5) Xkcd Blog. https://what-if.xkcd.com/63/
Scaling the Business Model
● Google has leveraged technical strengths to continuously improve their search
product(1), securing their primary revenue stream
o E.g. auto-complete, search optimized for mobile, voice-based search
● Google has tried to offset migration to the less fruitful mobile platforms (2) scale
by deepening their role in user’s daily activities (e.g. Youtube, Chrome browser,
Google Fiber, Android OS)
o Explored hardware for deeper integration but will face major challenges (3)
● The prophesied “internet of things” revolution is a new opportunity to consume
data about its users and translate it into improved ad placement (4)
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Google preparing now with acquisitions of Nest and Dropcam
(1) Search Engine Land. August 19, 2014. Google made 890 improvements to search over the past year. http://searchengineland.com/google-made-890-improvements-search-past-year201065
(2) Marketing Land. December 22, 2014. 7 challenges facing Google with the rise of native mobile advertising. http://marketingland.com/google-search-mobile-native-ads-111819
(3) Business Insider. February 9, 2012. Google’s foray into hardware will be a total disaster – here’s why. http://www.businessinsider.com/googles-foray-into-hardware-will-be-a-total-disaster-heres-why-2012-2
(4) Mashable. March 9, 2014. Advertising’s next frontier: The Internet of everything - http://mashable.com/2014/03/09/advertising-internet-of-everything-sxsw/
Monetizing the Platform
How does Google make money?
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Google’s primary revenue stream is
advertising income as shown in the
revenue data to the left. Advertising
revenues are over 80% of Googles
income. (1)
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Adsense is Google’s contextual paid
advertising software which matches
user’s search content and data with
advertisers.(2)
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Google has “built a business model
based on an alternative way of
monetizing an activity for which we
had been only too happy to
stop paying”(3)
References:
(1) Google’s 10K. https://investor.google.com/pdf/20131231_google_10K.pdf
(2) Edelman, Benjamin. April 11, 2011. Harvard Business Review. Google Inc.
(3) US News. June 25, 2013. Why Google’s Business Model Works.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2013/06/25/why-googles-business-model-works
What should Google do next?
Case Suggestions & Present Day Results
More Targeted Advertising
Expand Checkout function
• Result: Google expanded on targeted
advertising. In 2013, Google started
using user endorsements in display
ads.(1)
• Result: Google Checkout retired in 2013
to focus on new, multi-platform Google
Wallet.(3)
Full portal, aggregated
content & thematic
channels
Develop competing products
with Windows and Office
• Result: iGoogle started in 2005 and
discontinued in 2013. Per the Google
announcement, iGoogle was not
needed with widespread use of mobile
applications.(2)
• Result - Google Drive/Google
Documents is launched in April 2012.
Google documents are free and able to
be edited by multiple users, unlike
Microsoft office products.(4)
References:
(1) CNET. October 11, 2013. Google Wants to Sell More Ads Using Your Name. http://www.cnet.com/news/google-wants-to-sell-more-ads-using-your-name-and-profile/
(2) Google Support. https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2664197?hl=en
(3) Mashable. May 21, 2013. Google to Retire Checkout in November 2013. http://mashable.com/2013/05/21/google-to-retire-checkout-in-november-2013/
(4) CNN Money. November 13, 2013. Will Google Docs Kill Off Microsoft Office. http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/13/technology/enterprise/microsoft-office-google-docs
/
What should Google do next?
Forward-thinking Possibilities
To date, Google has excelled in disruptive innovations including those detailed on the previous slide.
Google’s innovations are encouraged by their unique governance and culture. Some examples of
what Google should do next are as follows:
● Mobile Devices
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Develop a Google hardware option to compete with Apple in this increasingly mobile world.(1)
Expand Google “modular” phone, first launching in Puerto Rico. (2) This option has great opportunities in
the Western market by allowing people to choose which hardware components are relavant to them.
This phone could also be used in emerging markets to reach a new set of customers. This phone used in
conjunction Facebooks initiative (3) to bring internet to emerging markets could change advertising in
these markets.
Bring Google Glass to market. Google glass is a next generation mobile device which offers the user
additional flexiblity and features not offered with a mobile phone. Google needs to work to develop and
market Google Glass before this futuristic device becomes a part of the past.
References
(1) Paste Magazine. April 1, 2015. Companies That Google Should Buy Next. http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/01/5-companies-that-google-should-buy-next.html
(2) CNET Magazine. February 18, 2015. Project Ara: Everything we know about Google’s modular phone. http://www.cnet.com/news/project-ara-everything-we-know-about-googlesmodular-phone/
(3) Wall Street Journal. March 27th, 2014. Facebook Initiative to Bring Internet to Remote Areas. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304418404579465813963333866
What should Google do next?
Forward-thinking Possibilities (continued)
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Entertainment/Gaming
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Transportation/Travel industry: Planes, Trains, Automobiles
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Compete with Netflix/Amazon Streaming by expanding on online streaming platform (Android TV) and
content. (1)
Become a larger player in gaming industry by utilizing Developer to create mainstream games available
on multiple platforms. Mobile gaming is the fastest growing segment of the market. (2) Reaching this
audience would increase Google’s base.
Google is used Develop beyond Google Flights to offer discounts, hotel/travel arrangements, etc.
Explore creation of airlines and new technology to improve travel possibilities. (3)
Develop Google Analytics into full-fledged marketing agency (4)
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Google Analytics Premium already helps businesses to understand and utilize data. Google use’s existing
customer base to build business and expand to offer more agency-style assessments. Rather than just
providing the data, Google could expand to provide more assistance for many businesses.
References
(1) Gartner. October 29, 2013. Gartner says World Wide Video Game Market to Total $93 Billion in 2013. http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2614915
Forbes Magazine. April 30, 2012. Here’s Why Google and Facebook Might Completely Disappear in the Next 5 Years. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/04/30/heres-whygoogle-and-facebook-might-completely-disappear-in-the-next-5-years/
(2) BGR. January 9, 2015. What CES 2015 made clear: The cable industry has lost its power to control how we watch TV
http://bgr.com/2015/01/09/ces-2015-cable-tv/
(3) The NewsTeller. March 3, 2015. Google Aims Pilot-Free Passenger Planes. http://www.thenewsteller.com/tech/google-aims-pilot-free-passenger-planes/11263/
(4) Google Analytics Official Website. www.google.com/analytics